Featured News

2018 Estate Tax Changes And What May Be Ahead

The tax code overhaul brought a lot of changes, but for the estate tax, the most far-reaching result was what didn't happen. Chiefly, you didn't lose the capital gains break on inherited assets when they are sold.

For a narrow slice of the population, one weighty thing did happen with tax reform: Very wealthy households received a better deal on how much of their estate is taxable. Their fondest wish did not come true, to be sure, and the new tax law did not kill what is derisively called "the death tax." However, Uncle Sam's claim on inherited mega-money has been shrunk by the new law. Starting in 2018, the exemption for estate tax nearly doubles. The amount that can be passed along to heirs tax-free rises in 2018 to $11.2 million from $5.5 million for individuals, and to $22.4 million, from $11 million, for couples.

The good news - and bad - is that through the end of 2025 is a great time to die, but Congress could modify the just-enacted rules as soon as 2019, particularly with recent changes in the political climate. Left unchanged, this new part of the tax code is set to expire in 2026.